Darkest before the dawn

I’m a big comics fan, right? And one of my favorite writers is Warren Ellis (check the Blogroll); the man’s a certifiable genius. Anyway, he had this Justice League-type series called The Authority, full of these larger-than-life characters with exotic abilities and personalities. But the one I’ve found myself thinking about the last couple of days is Jenny Sparks, the Spirit of The Twentieth Century:

Leader of The Authority

Sparks’ more obvious ability was electric control, but her real deal was that she was a reflection of the overall world, and vice versa. It’s a little difficult to explain; I suppose you could say she was essentially the fulcrum of the world. People she had random encounters with eventually ended up being important figures, historic events would be enacted wherever she went, etc. But also, when the world felt happy and positive, so did she; similarly, when she was despondant, society reflected it.

I wonder, is that possible in real life. Actually, “possible” is a bad word; I should ask, is that likely? All around the world, it seems like everyone is sinking further and further into despair. Riots in Greece, death and destruction doing their customary blood dance in the Middle East, piracy and famine spreading in Africa. And here in the States, people either hide their head in the sands, unwilling to look closely at the coming storm, or scream that the world is ending, too wrapped up in their apocalyptic fantasies to see clearly. How much of that can be blamed on a media that makes a rallying cry out of the phrase “If it bleeds, it leads”? And how much can be attributed to mob mentality, to the idea that life is pain and thinking anything else is childish?

I’m not sure if I’m properly getting across what I’m trying to say here. Let me try a different tack. Ever heard of a fractal? In its strictest definition, a fractal is a geometric pattern that is repeated at every scale; think of it like a Daruma doll, if that helps. My question is, does that stacked hierarchy apply in geo-emotional terms as well? Is my bad mood a reflection of an equivalent mood in Orlando, which is mirrored in the SE United States, and so on and so forth in increasingly large brackets? Or is it the poor worldwide mood that gets filtered and reflected in smaller and smaller terms until my current circumstances evolve to match it?

The difference is found in the levels of personal responsibility each option implies. If it’s the latter, than essentially there’s nothing that you can do to effect that mood; after all, you’re one person (we’re going to ignore what that says about being able to affect your own mood as it’s a reflection of a “world-mood”). There’s a certain amount of comfort in that. “Hey, there’s nothing that I can do, so I’m going to do nothing.”

But if it’s the former…

That brings me to what has the misfortune of passing as the point of this rambling, disjointed post. I’m not sorry if my bad mood is ruining your good time because the physical nature of reality is altering itself to both reflect and accomodate my pissy mood. I know that might seem bad-natured, to not be regretful at the possibility that my negativity is leaking over into your life, but life sucks right now. That’s not just an indictment on where I am right now, mind you; that particular blanket statement extends, again, to a global framing. So face it. Look the ugliness and frustration right in the eye, and embrace it. That’s the only way to win. You’ll thank me.

Huh. Didn’t expect this to end on a “keep fighting” note. I guess I’m not as miserable as I thought.